A Round Up of Vegan Packed Lunch Ideas from YouTube

Vegan YouTube can be a drama-fest (YouTube in general can be a drama-fest), but it can also be a place to find some great ideas! Today for one of my special #VeganMoFo posts I thought I'd show you some of the no-drama YouTubers inspiring me right now from all over the world.

1. Mind Over Munch (United States)

Mind Over Munch isn't a fully vegan channel (the only not fully vegan channel I'm sharing here), but often posts vegan content like this epic vegan bento compilation. Alyssia is based in New York. Her videos are edited really well and are full of whimsy. The focus is on food that is healthy but appealing--you won't find any vegan specialty products, just basic food, often in inspired combinations. The peanut butter-strawberry quesadilla looks pretty good, and the bean lettuce cups combine many of my favorite things, so I imagine they're amazing. Alyssia's food is pretty stunningly beautiful, too.

2. Pick Up Limes (The Netherlands)

Pick Up Limes is a vegan channel that also includes some non-food content. I really like the way Sadia narrates her videos. It's so soothing to hear her talk about her food! Sadia is in the Netherlands, but the food she shows is typically readily available in the United States, too. She tends to emphasize nutrition, because she is a dietitian. Usually, she includes packed snacks along with the packed lunches when he does a vegan lunch video. The lentil and tahini mash sounds like such an easy idea, but tahini is pretty much always amazing! I may try that sometime.

3. JessBeautician (United Kingdom)

The JessBeautician channel has a lot of vegan packed lunch videos. What's cool about them is they tend to be a weekly plan, with tips on how to use the elements from one lunch in another. Jess records in the United Kingdom, so she often promotes products I can't get where I live, but a lot of her ideas would translate anywhere. The pearled couscous salad looks so good!

4. Good Eatings (Sweden)

I first ran across Good Eatings only about a month ago, but I wish I had known about it sooner. I love how pretty the lunches Mailin put together in this video are. Her tip about how to wrap summer rolls without making them stick to the surface of your cutting board is pretty cool, too. This is a Swedish channel, but I think I could find most of the ingredients here. The pasta with romesco sauce is calling my name. It looks so easy and so flavorful!

5. Hot for Food (Canada)

Hot for Food is a Toronto-based vegan channel with a focus on decadence more than health, but the recipes in the bento box video look less decadent than healthy. Beyond this video, I've often made Lauren's eggless salad, as I'm sure you've seen if you've hung around here very much, and I have tried a few other recipes from Hot for Food you haven't seen on my blog. Lauren's food hasn't disappointed me yet. From this video, I can't wait to try her white bean pesto hummus. The quick sweet potato risotto also looks pretty great. And speaking of sweet potatoes...

6. Sweet Potato Soul (United States)

I started watching Jenné at Sweet Potato Soul when I was first thinking about going vegan. She has a lot of recipes inspired by the flavors of American soul food, makes New York life look amazing, and makes veganism seem normal and natural. She's cooking up a storm in a tiny kitchen, which I find inspiring because my kitchen is nothing to write home about, either (there's a good reason I haven't given you a kitchen tour!). I totally agree with her advice to always have chocolate around. The black bean burger she made in this video, with the beet hummus and veggies, is gorgeous, but her channel is so much more than the occasional packed lunch video. I feel like I learn something new every time I watch her videos.

7. Fablunch (Canada)

Fablunch is a vegan channel that long ago expanded way beyond lunch. Olga is a Russian immigrant to Canada living in Toronto. I ran across Olga early in my vegan life and found her combination of ingredients really intriguing. The avocado potato salad combines two of my favorite things, and I'm kind of amazed I haven't made it yet!

8. Yay Lunch (Japan)

Yay Lunch is mysterious; there are very few videos on the channel and only one that is actually a lunch (this one, uploaded three years ago). It appears to be a Japanese channel and is done in the same style as many other Japanese bento channels, only this time the food is vegan. I like to watch these more meditative-style bento videos because they are as dedicated to the process as to the food itself, and there is something soothing and beautiful about that. But I also love the tofu and vegan crumbles soboro idea. You probably won't find me carving flowers out of radishes (though who knows?) but I'm mesmerized by this person's skills!

9. Afia Amoako (Ghana)

Afia's video is a full day of food, including a simple packed lunch of waakye with salad, tomato stew, and hemp seeds. This is one of few African vegans I've run across on YouTube (Afia is from Ghana). Her waakye recipe uses black eyed peas, which I rarely eat, but looks both easy and good.

10. Chef Jana (Brazil)

Chef Jana makes her videos in Brazil, but her food has global influences. This is the only lunch box I've found on her channel, but you've seen me pack her Russian/Olivier salad a few times, and it's so good. Jana has a really open attitude toward food--put what you like in, and thoroughly enjoy whatever it is. This box looks so pretty! I don't think I've ever put tofu in a pasta salad, other than if peanut noodles count, but this combo sounds really tasty.

I hope this compilation can inspire you, too. If you have a favorite vegan YouTuber, please let me know--I'm always looking for new inspiration.